MARITIME workers demanded answers from the government today after it was alleged that it had behaved “illegally” in rushing through contracts for Brexit ferry services.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said that “reasons of extreme urgency” meant that Seaborne Freight gained the £13.8 million contract for the services, which are a part of contingency plans for a no-deal Brexit.

However, Labour MP and House of Commons transport select committee chairwoman Lilian Greenwood has raised concerns about why Mr Grayling rushed through the contracting.

Ms Greenwood drew attention to two submissions to the committee’s Freight and Brexit inquiry, which claimed that the Department for Transport acted illegally in securing the contracts without a proper procurement process.

Transport union RMT has demanded that jobs on the services go to British seafarers on proper, union-recognised wages and for all British employment laws to be fully complied with.

Union general secretary Mick Cash said: “There is a growing scandal over the award of these Brexit ferry contracts and the behaviour of Chris Grayling suggests that he is orchestrating yet another stitch-up of the British seafarers while ladling out public money to the likes of Seaborne Freight.

“The government have already refused to say whether they will abide with employment law, such as paying the UK minimum wage on these publicly funded services and now it seems there is a real case to answer that they have also breached procurement law in the awarding of the contracts.

“This is a national disgrace that gets murkier by the day.”